Always Iowaby Janet Banks Not one recognizable face on the plane,in the airport John Deere memorabiliabeckon from the gift shop,the state, empty of love. Mother, spiffed up, her coiffure a pale shadeof apricot, Dad chewing on a bit of paperto calm his nerves as he paces,both long gone to graves. No welcoming. Kathy, once theContinue reading “Always Iowa by Janet Banks”
Tag Archives: photography
Missing My Father in Iceland by Robert Coats
Missing My Father in Iceland by Robert Coats We could have hiked together at Ϸingvellir into the cleft between parting tectonic plates, you with khaki rucksack and rock hammer explaining your work on the Aleutian volcanoes, and how twisted outcrops form when basalt flows into a subglacial lake. I could have told you how theContinue reading “Missing My Father in Iceland by Robert Coats”
Apple Tea in a Fairy Chimney by Margaret Duda
Apple Tea in a Fairy Chimney by Margaret Duda I feel the strength of my husband’s hand As he leads me up the uneven steps Carved into the side of a fairy chimney In the Göreme Valley of Cappadocia. We enter a sand-colored room chiseled in tuff, Settle close on a stone ledge covered withContinue reading “Apple Tea in a Fairy Chimney by Margaret Duda”
Indian Summer by David Dephy
Indian Summerby David Dephy That’s right, friends, it was an Indian summer.I was sitting in the New York’s taxi, as I wassitting in the hammock hanging on the waterfalland I was thinking about myself on the waterfall… “When we are not ourselves, we are killing ourselves,”I thought. “We are the lights when we are ourselves,butContinue reading “Indian Summer by David Dephy”
Irish Cow Circle by Maureen Grady
Irish Cow Circleby Maureen Grady I sat in a field of damp grass,in the very centerof a Neolithic stone circle,imagining a piece of theatreI’d love to direct there when eight cows approachedfrom the far edges of the field,came right up to me,until their big brown headsencircled me,crowded above me. And one by one,each lay downContinue reading “Irish Cow Circle by Maureen Grady”
Across Kansas by William Stafford
Across Kansasby William Stafford My family slept those level milesbut like a bell rung deep till dawnI drove down an aisle of sound,nothing real but in the bell,past the town where I was born. Once you cross a land like thatyou own your face more: what the lightstruck told a self; every rockdenied all theContinue reading “Across Kansas by William Stafford”
An Old City, Czech Republic by Laurel Benjamin
An Old CityCzech Republicby Laurel Benjamin I’m standing on a street corner in an old city after darkwhere no one appears after midnight—no couples arm in arm coming from a drinking spot,no bicyclists, no streetcars. A black dog enters the street, dragging his ownerwho struggles to hold strands of other dogs,and with one hand steersContinue reading “An Old City, Czech Republic by Laurel Benjamin”
Written on the Wall of West Forest Temple by Su Shi
Written on the Wall of West Forest Temple by Su Shi translated by Burton Weston From the side, a whole range; from the end, a single peak: Far, near, high, low, no two parts alike. Why can’t I tell the true shape of Lushan? Because I myself am in the mountain. PHOTO: Fog curls aroundContinue reading “Written on the Wall of West Forest Temple by Su Shi”
Hadrian’s Wall by Jonathan Yungkans
Hadrian’s Wall by Jonathan Yungkans January snow had melted but wind’s frigid razors shaved away clothes, skin and blood, until white bones stood in our place. Grass and heather would stretch long and green in spring but for now, under a brackish sky it glowered before us brown, solid as a wooden wall in standoffishness—Continue reading “Hadrian’s Wall by Jonathan Yungkans”
London by Kim Whysall-Hammond
London by Kim Whysall-Hammond Emerging from the Tube you clothe me with dusty breath and ambient noise I feel you living restlessly lifeforce surging through centuries pulsing through busy streets I turn a corner and a garden churchyard filled with lunchers and tourists leads me to rest. When leaving you I reach down pet yourContinue reading “London by Kim Whysall-Hammond”
POETRY and PLACES 